McCay takes chair at Film NZ

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts’ entertainment law specialist John McCay will replace Julian Grimmond as chair of Film NZ’s board in three weeks.

The change was announced in a release put out late Thursday. McCay will replace Queenstown producer Julian Grimmond who, the release says “is stepping down when his tenure concludes this month”.

No new appointments to the board were announced.

The timing for the handover is possibly helpful to Film NZ. It’s widely known in the industry that North & South has been preparing an article which is expected to be critical of Film NZ and some of its people.

A change at the top might head off some, if not all, the criticisms which might be made in the article.

McCay is one of the most recent additions to the board, having joined at this time last year. He’s the only person quoted in the release to thank Grimmond for his seven and a half years with Film NZ, which have included five as chair. McCay cited Grimmond’s “tireless service to the New Zealand screen industry” and called the level of international interest in coming here “a testament to his vision and passion”.

Grimmond won three Emmys for his work on The Amazing Race prior to joining Film NZ. Since becoming a board member he’s worked on over a dozen international shows that have shot in NZ.